A data licence cannot grant consent

A public licence does not summarise every permission governing research material. This practice essay compares Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 legal terms with the National Inuit Strategy on Research, TCPS 2 Chapter 9, and the CARE Principles. A fictional archive containing instrument measurements, place descriptions, and interview excerpts illustrates why possession, copyright authority, individual consent, collective governance, and repository access must remain distinct. The analysis examines irrevocable public grants, incompatible downstream restrictions, attribution without endorsement, and material excluded from a blanket licence. It provides neither legal advice nor a universal Indigenous permission process, and makes no claim of community approval. Clearer separation of objects and authorities can support legitimate reuse while avoiding promises that a repository is not entitled or able to make.